[VIDEO] Returning to The Windy City: A Recap of Chicago Windup Watch Fair 2023

When we sent out to launch the first-ever Chicago Windup Watch Fair last year, we didn’t know what to expect. Data suggested that the Chicago area was home to a significant number of Worn & Wound community members, but little did we know that the Fair would attract folks from all across the Midwest, and from Texas to Canada. And oh boy, did our second show at Venue West in Chicago not disappoint! In fact, by all accounts, it was even bigger, more vibrant, and far more interactive than last year’s already epic opener.

Not only did the show have five amazing lead sponsors in the form of Citizen, Fortis, G-SHOCK, Oris, and Zodiac for the first time, we managed to fit about 25% more brands into the venue than just one year ago. And the brands came with a massive array of new watches, using this Fair to launch these products to the world. You can see several of these new launches on the most recent edition of our weekly video series, A Week in Watches, recorded straight from the floor of the show.

A wide array of enthusiast brands returned to Chicago, and we had a slew of watch companies choose Chicago 2023 as their official debut to the Windup Watch Fair. Some of these first-timers included: Dryden, Hess Fine Art, Luminox, Shinola, Sternglas, Venezianico, and Wolter. We even had a few brands return to the show after a hiatus, including Mondaine, MeisterSinger, Mühle-Glashütte. It was great to have them back. Finally, based on the success of our initial EDC Alley at our San Francisco show earlier this year, we had several non-watch brands ask to be included as well, such as Finch Knife Co., GiantMouse, Oak Street Bootmakers, and more.

This particular Windup Watch Fair was home to a few other firsts as well. On Saturday morning, a literal boatload of certified divers wound up in a lake… Lake Michigan that is, for the first-of-its-kind Windup launch of an iconic Benrus reissue in the form of their ULTRA-DEEP. Zodiac also made waves by hosting the first eBay streaming auction ever in front of a live studio audience, which was beyond exhilarating for everyone involved!

In addition to discovering amazing watches, attendees were able to catch an array of panels and live podcast recording all for free! Panel topics ranged from how to build ingenuity into your design process with Fortis to the future of enthusiast communities with Oris. And folks were treated to fun and interactive podcast recordings such as an upcoming Time of Screen with Citizen to a two parter with The Grey NATO podcast, that’s quickly becoming a tradition.

Easily the best part of our time in Chicago was simply spending quality time with the amazing people who came out… along with some amazing watches. Thank you so much for finding your way to The Windy City to hang with us and hopefully we’ll see at least a few of you at the Windup Watch Fair NYC in October!